Ken Munro is the news editor. Please let him know about village news and events via Contact Us on the main menu or on 07880801674.

Shotesham Parish Council with PCC and SVA – The joint group continues to meet (virtually of course) to try, with the help of various volunteers, to ensure all Shotesham residents have their needs met during these difficult times.

Covid 19 Lockdown – announcement by the Prime Minister on 10th May appeared to indicate some kind of way forward but without much clarity, hopefully some more info in the coming days. What we do know for sure is that it will be quite some time before things are anything like normal, so Shotesham will continue to offer the assistance that we have in place. If you, or anyone else you are aware of, needs any help then please let one of the people below know. Many thanks to everyone for their help.

Contacts are:-
Bob Harris.         550672.   hill.cottage@btinternet.com
Jeff Gough.        550358.   clerk.shotesham@outlook.com
Heather Jackson 550785.   heatherbelljackson@btinternet.com
Ken Munro         550736.   resotan@aol.com 

Some information on services further down this page and don’t forget, if you have to be locked down, there are far worse places in the world than Shotesham in the sunshine 🌞.

Local walker rescues a lamb! Passing by and just in time to rescue a lamb who had fallen through the barbwire fence, and re-unite it with Mum, well done Judy!

The DIARY – Click here

Red Kite                                                                              Robin feeding her young 

Mike (aka Shotesham’s David Attenborough), sat patiently for quite some time to capture these, obviously we can’t tell anyone where they are or we’d have to kill them! Mike says ‘we are to have them on the common, considering how endangered they are. Water voles are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. They used to be found in nearly every waterway in the UK, but numbers have declined by over 90% over the last 10 years due to habitat loss and predation.’ For more information go to: ptes.org/get-informed/facts-figures/water-vole/

Not forgetting the Cows – Regular visitors will be used to the sight of cows on the north end of Shotesham Common (ie between Hollow Lane and Skeets Hill) during the summer months and we now have a small herd of around 24 back to visit us! As always, there’s no need to avoid walking on the Common (though you will need to avoid their ‘residues’),  but we should always treat the cows with care and respect, and best to walk well around them when possible. This is particularly the case when there are young calves who can be a little rumbustious, and will be protected by their mums. They will get used to visitors and in fact  become quite friendly in due course, Skye & Ted make peace with their new friends.
                            

Wildlife Blog – you may be interested in visiting this blog by Shotesham resident Andy Musgrove….some fascinating creepy crawly things! http://andymuspsl.blogspot.com/ 

Medical – As it’s quite difficult to see your GP, recently retired doctor, Gill Tewson, has offered her help as a first contact for minor medical issues, Gill is on 01508 492424 and will try and assist where possible with advice or who else you might go to.

Provisions –

Gwen Jackson has another supply of local pork available at Hillside Farm, Shotesham – Joints, Bacon, Chops, Gammon Joints, Burgers, Sausages, Chipolatas.  Local Honey available too.  Open Monday to Saturday.  01508 550337/07788932646

Little Haven Coffee Shop, Norwich– Our very own Simon Nisbet from Shotesham can deliver bags of coffee beans to your door and will grind them if you wish for whatever you use at home be it a cafetière or espresso machine. Good choice from around the world all from small independent farmers. Call me on either 07710183024 or 01508558198. See here for recent article in EDP. 

Duke Of Delhi – Indian takeaway in Newton Flotman comes highly recommended. It’s safe payment and collection through a window and really friendly. Click here for menu and phone  01508 470086.

Stoke Mill, our local Michelin recommended restaurant are now offering a ‘Click and Collect Take Away’ service, with Gourmet Hampers (5* – 2reviews), breads, wine and take away ready meals available inc Fish&Chips (4.5*- 3 reviews). Please follow link for full details – https://www.stokemill.co.uk/stokemill-takeaway/

Also, we’re reliably informed that there are some good facilities in Mulbarton if you can get out for some shopping. Paddock Farm Shop is well stocked with fresh fruit and veg, the Boots pharmacy is open and appears not to be as busy as Poringland, and a fresh fish van visits on Thursday mornings…..ps, don’t tell everyone!!! 

Some Norfolk buses are limited and sometimes cancelled all together, but Konnectbus are saying that the 84 is still running at present…..watch this space! 

Additional Service – lest anyone who needs this isn’t aware, South Norfolk Council will give assistance to people who have difficulty getting their bins out for collection. There are conditions of course, but info below and applications can be made online at https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/residents/rubbish-and-recycling/assisted-bin-collections or by phone 01508 533933.

Other Information –

VE Day 75 – A beautiful day on Friday, hope everyone who took part in saying ‘thank you’ to all those who served and died for our country, enjoyed the celebration and the two minutes silent reflection. Unfortunately the bells of All Saints weren’t to be heard at our end of Shotesham but we went ahead and toasted and sang anyway.  Don’t forget there’s lots of fascinating information and insights into that time on the Village and it’s History tab above. 

No Mow May! – The National Trust, in conjunction with Plantlife.org are driving a No Mow May campaign to protect the wildflowers in  our gardens for the bees. Along with this they’ve provided a guide to involve the kids by getting them to make a Scaremow (see photo below) and follow this link to the guide and more info. ps, small child size ones are available too! –

Even with the world wide crisis, some people are still looking to take advantage of any weaknesses. As always, please keep an eye out for any unusual activity, remember that if you spot anything suspicious the police can be contacted by phoning 101. 

SCAM AWARE! Due to the increasing occurrence of scams, we’ve decided to feature a log of examples on the site which will feature examples of things to avoid, and hopefully give a general of the types of scams that are out there. If you experience anything suspicious, please send evidence via email (Contact Us above) and we’ll add them to the list. Thanks for your help and, as always, don’t respond to anything you’re not sure of, and you can always look up the Scam Aware website or Google the company name (other search engines are available). REMEMBER, if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it’s probably a DUCK! Click on the link for examples – text msg – Email Provider – Other scams are available!

Shotesham Parish Council are looking to restore and re-instate the black and white finger post signs, and the South Norfolk Council, though they will supply the materials, no longer have the ability to make them. As a result we may be looking for sponsorship of individual posts from members of the village to supplement any other money we can apply for. Would you like to consider becoming a sponsor? If so please contact Jeff at clerk.shotesham@outlook.com 

Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital’s ‘Settle in Services’ are looking for dedicated volunteers who wish to give something back to their local community. Volunteers meet patients on their day of discharge from hospital to help settle them back in to their own environment. Click here for more information 

Thinking Fuel – If you feel you may be paying too much for your oil, Community Action Norfolk (CAN) have a scheme that may assist. Click here to see how you might save and here to see how it works, or go directly to the CAN website for more details.

Our local police officer is PC 1151 Sherry Locke who now holds the position of Poringland Beat Manager, contact details for all our local officers – click here.

Local Police info – following a recent break, the Police Newsletter is back – April Newsletter

News from Norfolk Police Commissioner – April Newsletter 

Selected older news items are retained on the “News archive” page)